The present invention relates to both a process for the transmission of operating parameters from a control centre to a positionally limited cordless telecommunications system with a base station and with at least one mobile station initialised at it, and a corresponding cordless telecommunications system for carrying out this transmission process with a base station and with at least one mobile station initialised at the base station.
The term xe2x80x9cinitialisedxe2x80x9d denotes any mobile station fundamentally set up for operation with the base station and the term xe2x80x9cregisteredxe2x80x9d an initialised mobile station communicating with the base station.
A known positionally unlimited telecommunications system with a stationary radio device (base station) and with moving radio devices (mobile stations) which both exchange radio signals with one another via a radio connection is described in the book xe2x80x9cThe GSM System for Mobile Communicationsxe2x80x9d written by M. Mouly and M. B. Pautet 1992 and published in-house at Palaiseau, France. The radio communications system described in the book is the public mobile radio system xe2x80x9cglobal system for mobile communicationsxe2x80x9d (GSM) of which the technical components satisfy the standard with the same name xe2x80x9cGSMxe2x80x9d.
It is stated on pages 424 to 427 in section 6.3.9 and 6.3.10 of this book that operating parameters of a mobile station change when their location changes. For example, the frequency properties of a frequency hopping channel have to change synchronously with other mobile stations in order to cope with a change in the positionally different frequencies. As a radio signalling channel (BCCH: broadcast control channel) is provided in the GSM network, a signalling connection to the mobile stations can be created without difficulty at any time for transmitting operating parameters.
In cordless positionally limited telecommunications systems (CTS=cordless telephone system) with which a certain number of mobile stations are operated by a base station with a positionally limited transmission rangexe2x80x94without a BCCH having to be providedxe2x80x94, central transmission of operating parameters to the base station and to all mobile stations initialised at it is desirable in each case. Sets of operating parameters for the CTS, for example frequency lists or frequency hopping sequences, can change according to the requirements of the network operator (hereinafter also called operator for short) of a public land mobile network (PLMN) or an authorised institution (for example a state regulatory authority issuing radio frequency licences to the users). These changes must be distributable to the base stations (CTS-FP=CTS-fixed part) and to the mobile stations (MS=mobile station) initialised at them, regardless of whether or not the mobile stations are registered in the cordless telecommunications system at the time of distribution. Furthermore, mobile stations can be registered either at the CTS or at the GSM (so-called xe2x80x9cdual mode terminalsxe2x80x9d), according to whether or not they are located within the transmission range of the CTS. A CTS is also subject to the constraint that no parameters can be transmitted via a broadcast carrier, and, moreover, does not necessarily have PLMN coverage:
For example, if a new CTS is to be initialised for the first time when a periodic operating parameter is to be checked by the CTS, when changes are effected by a control centre (network operator or authorised institution) or when the CTS location changes (for example owing to a move). In such cases, it is necessary to transmit (update) operating parameters (sets of parameters) to the CTS-FP and to its MS.
It is accordingly the object of the present invention to provide a transmission process with which operating parameters can be distributed centrally in the easiest manner to one or more positionally limited cordless telecommunications systems and can be activated, and to provide a corresponding cordless telecommunications system.
This object is achieved according to the present invention by a process for the transmission of operating parameters to a positionally limited cordless telecommunications system with a base station and at least one mobile station initialized at the base station, from a control center of a superimposed telecommunications network, comprising the steps of initially transmitting the operating parameters via the superimposed telecommunications network to the base station or to one of its mobile stations, relaying the operating parameters from the base station to as far as possible all initialized mobile stations or from one mobile station to the base station and then as far as possible to all other initialized mobile stations, and then activating the operating parameters. The invention is further directed to a cordless telecommunications system employing such a process.
The object is therefore achieved according to the invention in that via a superimposed telecommunications network, the operating parameters are initially transmitted to the base station or to one of its mobile stations and are then relayed from the base station to as far as possible all initialised mobile stations or from one mobile station to the base station and as far as possible to all other initialised mobile stations and are activated. For this purpose, the control centre is connected to the superimposed telecommunications network (so-called xe2x80x9coverlay networkxe2x80x9d).
The process according to the invention allows the control centre and therefore also the PLMN operator or the authorised institution directly or indirectly to make changes to CTS operating parameters (sets of parameters) and to activate these operating parameters. Operating parameters are transferred in two stages: the operating parameters are initially transferred from the control centre to the CTS, namely to the base station or to one of its mobile stations. These operating parameters are then distributed within the CTS independently of the control centre, i.e. relayed to the base and mobile stations present there.
With a preferred embodiment of the transmission process according to the invention, the superimposed telecommunications network is a wired telecommunications network, for example a PSTN (=public switched telephone network) or an ISDN (=integrated services digital network). The transfer of operating parameters can be initiated in that the network operator or the authorised institution calls the base station via the PSTN or ISDN and transmits the operating parameters to the base station.
In particular during a periodic operating parameter check by the base station, it is advantageous if the transmission of operating parameters is effected by the base station or by one mobile station, i.e. by the CTS itself. For example, the base station is able to call the network operator via the PSTN or the ISDN. Therefore, a call back through the network operator or the authorised institution can optionally be effected.
Alternatively, a mobile station calls the network operator via the PLMN, temporarily stores the operating parameters on its subscriber identification module or in other mobile equipment and transfers it to the base station at a later stage.
In particular if operating parameters are transmitted by the network operator to a mobile station initialised at the base station but not registered at the base station owing to an excessive distance, this one mobile station initially temporarily stores the operating parameters transmitted to it and relays them to the base station at a later stage when it is located at an appropriate transmission range. The network operator or the authorised institution calls a mobile station via PLMN. The mobile station temporarily stores the operating parameters in the SIM or ME and later transfers them to the base station. Transfer from the network operator to the mobile station can be effected via a superimposed cordless network (for example via the GSM network), by means of which the transmitted operating parameters can also be relayed from the mobile station directly to other mobile stations of the CTS.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the transmission process according to the invention, only after relaying of the operating parameters to at least all registered mobile stations, these operating parameters are activated in the base station and in these mobile stations, preferably simultaneously. The unregistered mobile stations not yet communicating with the base station do not require the operating parameters immediately but at latest when they pick up the communication connection to the base station, i.e. when they are registered. This means that the distribution of operating parameters to registered mobile stations takes place in CTS mode and then the activation of the new operating parameters in the base station and in the registered mobile stations.
Although the unregistered mobile stations do not communicate with the base station, in a further advantageous embodiment of the process, the base station can relay the operating parameters to unregistered but initialised mobile stations via the or a different superimposed telecommunications network. Thus, the operating parameters can be transferred to any unregistered mobile station via a mobile radio network, for example GSM, in that the base station itself or via the network operator intentionally calls this mobile station via the GSM and transmits the operating parameters to it individually.
In a development of this embodiment of the process, it is also possible to relay the operating parameters from the base station as a short message to unregistered initialised mobile stations. The short message service SMS is already known as an optional service feature in mobile radio networks. For example, up to 160 characters can be transmitted to a subscriber by SMS, even if the mobile station is not switched on. The text is temporarily stored in the network, the presence of information signalled to the subscriber when he next switches on and is transmitted for fetching.
The operating parameters can also be relayed via a wired superimposed telecommunications system from the base station, for example via the PSTN or ISDN.
In an alternative process, on the other hand, the operating parameters, effected by the base station, are relayed via a mobile station in which the operating parameters are already activated to unregistered initialised mobile stations via a cordless superimposed telecommunications network (PLMN, for example the mobile radio network GSM). This can be effected if the mobile station(s) also unregistered in the PLMN are registered in the PLMN again at a later stage.
The base station, as soon as a formerly unregistered initialised mobile station is registered at it, preferably relays the operating parameters to this mobile station.
In a further embodiment of the process, all mobile stations initialised at the base station perform a predetermined uniform registration procedure by means of which the operating parameters are relayed from the base station to the mobile station and are activated, despite different operating parameters between base station and a mobile station. A starting sequence in the form of a predetermined frequency hop sequence is preferably used for registration. Operating parameters are distributed to initialised but unregistered mobile stations such that, after activation of the new operating parameters in the base station, these mobile stations pick up a connection to the base station and load and activate the operating parameters via the known frequency hop sequence starting sequence which is a shared secret between the base station and the initialised mobile stations. This starting sequence ensures that it is still possible to pick up a connection after all the aforementioned transmission processes have failed.
The above-described processes have the advantage for the user that they can take place in the background and automatically.
Further certainty is obtained in that unregistered initialised mobile stations can be connected to the base station manually via a wired or cordless interface associated with the base station for the transmission of operating parameters. The mobile station can be connected, for example, to an infrared (IR) interface of the base station and the operating parameters can be activated on completion of the transfer. This transmission process, which can be used, for example, as an xe2x80x9cemergency scenarioxe2x80x9d if the transmission of operating parameters via the PLMN (air interface) has not previously been successful, could be started on its way in that the base station and the associated mobile station are brought manually into a corresponding xe2x80x9cemergency modexe2x80x9d.
The new operating parameters can be activated directly in time or at a fixed time. The relaying of operating parameters to initialised mobile stations and the activation thereof can take place after a time delay according to their state of registration (registered or unregistered) and the transmission process used in each case.
Preferably, a mobile station is initialised or initialisable at a plurality of cordless telecommunications systems.
These different variations of the transmission process can be used individually or in any combination, and predetermined escalation stages can be provided for them in order to supply all initialised mobile stations in succession with the new operating parameters. Furthermore, the aforementioned variations of the transmission process can be applied both in a BCCH-free protocol (BCCH=broadcast channel) and when using a BCCH channel. Moreover, these variations of the transmission process can be applied to xe2x80x9chalf rate traffic channelsxe2x80x9d in addition to xe2x80x9cfull rate traffic channelsxe2x80x9d. The transmission process according to the invention can be applied to such TDMA systems (TDMA=time division multiple access) or also to CDMA systems (CDMA=code division multiple access) and to mixtures of them. Carrier frequencies, frequency hop diagrams, HF performance parameters, starting sequences or radio transmission modes (half/full-rate, CDMA codes) etc., for example, can be transmitted as operating parameters.
The above-mentioned object is achieved according to the invention with a cordless telecommunications system of the type mentioned at the outset in that, via a superimposed telecommunications network from a control centre, operating parameters can initially be transmitted to the base station or to one of its mobile stations and can then be relayed from the base station to as far as possible all initialised mobile stations or from one mobile station to the base station as well as to as far as possible all other initialised mobile stations and can be activated.
Further advantages of the invention will emerge from the description and the drawings. Similarly, the features which have been mentioned hereinbefore and are listed hereinafter can be used according to the invention individually as such or together in any combinations. The design illustrated and described should not be considered as exhaustive, but serves as an example for explaining the invention.